[sweetliberty]

Aaron is bottle fed and about half of the time he completely sleeps through the night without a feed; the other half he will wake up around 1am and won't go back to sleep without a bottle. We finally upped his nipple flow recently from slow to fast and he'll take the same amount with the fast flow and still be screaming because he won't get as much suck time to comfort himself. We know he's using that feed as comfort more than anything else but the doctor said she wasn't concerned over it because he's so thin.

However, we're looking to take away the bottle by 12 months. Anyone have suggestions of how to eliminate that bottle? He's never been a pacifier baby; we've tried and he never took to one and don't really want to start the habit now. We're going to be looking to start the process Memorial Day weekend as that's a long weekend for my husband and easier on us. CIO is NOT an option.

Thanks in advance!

No idea since he doesnt take a binky. Kaileigh gave up night feedings at like 3 months.

If he can go 1 night or more with out needing it then that shows he's not actually hungry during the night especially if he eats before bed, he just needs it for comfort. I've heard to put water in the bottle so they learn that "eating" is for daytime, and he will probably not want the water. I've never tried it so I have no idea how that works. Hopefully someone here can give some better advice then I can.

[Daffodil]

I got rid of my daughter's middle of the night feed for awhile...but then she got sick and now its back. *sigh* But honestly my resolve isn't what it used to be. I used to be so crazed (LOL you ladies are all too familiar with it! Kinda crazy since normally I'm a very type B personality) about trying to get her ready for toddlerhood...getting rid of waking up at night, learning to eat, learning to walk, etc etc...but now I'm just like eh, I give up. lol

[Wren]

I used to sometimes nurse. Now that she is on formula I have found that I need to give her a bottle at around 4 am, or she won't sleep well after that. If I give her a bottle she will sleep until 7. I am having the same problem with faster flow nipples though during the day. Half her bottles are Dr. Brown and half Avent, which seem way faster even at the same stage. She drinks it so much quicker and then wants more. I don't know if her brain doesn't know she is full yet or if she is really hungry. Since I used to breastfeed, I have no idea how much formula total is normal for her.

[AndiNW]

Sorry no advice here either. We just replaced the night time feeding with a middle of the night visit to our bed!

[AmandaEliz]

I'd try swapping back to the slow flow for the night feedings. I'd also start decreasing the amount of milk he gets at each feeding. I also like Shannon's idea of of water. I'd try that if the slow-flow & decreasing milk doesn't work.

Avery was SSTN until the Never Ending Ear Infection & now the night feeding has reappeared. Booooo. It's the only way she'll go back to sleep for DH; I just rock her.

[starrsgirl]

Yeah, we always do slow nipples at night because of the comfort stuff.

Honestly, Emmett sleeps through the night, but once in a while IF he does wake up, he needs to nurse or take a bottle to go back down. With Emmett, I actually think he is hungry when he wakes up. But normally, he sleeps through his hunger if that makes sense. So, IF something wakes him, then he remembers that he is hungry. Does that make sense? (I KNOW he is hungry because if I have just pumped, I will offer him a bottle which he will never take from me normally and he will down it super quickly....normally he is a slow drinker.)

So, for us, we will just go with it. After age 1, I will probably allow him to have a sippy cup of milk. I like the water idea too though.

[madelynsmomma]

We haven't started yet with Olivia, but with my older DD we did water. We just upped the water-to-formula ratio every few days. After it was at 3/4 water, she was over it. I think it took about a week and a half, but probably could have been done in less time. She just never missed it after that. It was about 9 months when we did it.

[preciousgiftsmama]

I have no advice as I am wondering if Ty will ever not wake and need to nurse back to sleep He is my only baby that ever woke up at night past 6 weeks old, and also the only baby I have breastfed, so this whole waking/eat at night is new to me too. Ty also refuses the paci and CIO is not an option here either. I just figure Ty will co-sleep next to his "boob" and nurse all night until he is 3 or 4 or 5 or... ok not that long but geezz I dont see him giving it up!

Good luck and I am interested to see what ends up working for you as perhaps someday I can try it

[faith143]

How much is he eating during the day? What's his feeding schedule?

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Here is an article you may find interesting:
Sleep, Changing Patterns In The Family Bed | Jay Gordon, MD FAAP

I was thinking about doing the night weaning thing around 12 months but Dr. Sears actually recommends waiting until at least 18 months when they can understand what "Boobies Go Night Night" means. I think I'll probably wait until 18 months because I don't see how I'll do it without her crying otherwise. I can't deal with her crying, not even for 30 seconds.

[mommytokem]

Noah still wakes up every once in a while to nurse at night, I'm hoping that he'll continue sttn. I like the water idea too, I know with my oldest, we just switched him to a sippy cup at one and after that he didn't wake up anymore.

[sweetliberty]

Originally Posted by Jule'sMomInOR

Here is an article you may find interesting:
Sleep, Changing Patterns In The Family Bed | Jay Gordon, MD FAAP

I'll probably do something very similar to this, it's kind of similar to the NCSS so I think we'll be able to pull it off but if we can't we're probably going to try the water trick. We're going to give it a go starting Memorial Day Weekend and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks everyone!

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by sweetliberty

I'll probably do something very similar to this, it's kind of similar to the NCSS so I think we'll be able to pull it off but if we can't we're probably going to try the water trick. We're going to give it a go starting Memorial Day Weekend and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks everyone!

Please do let us know how it goes! GL!

[Daffodil]

Originally Posted by Jule'sMomInOR

Here is an article you may find interesting:
Sleep, Changing Patterns In The Family Bed | Jay Gordon, MD FAAP

I was thinking about doing the night weaning thing around 12 months but Dr. Sears actually recommends waiting until at least 18 months when they can understand what "Boobies Go Night Night" means. I think I'll probably wait until 18 months because I don't see how I'll do it without her crying otherwise. I can't deal with her crying, not even for 30 seconds.

Oh, I didn't realize that! I guess I'll wait until 18 months as well...I want to transfer her to her own bedroom too. Not just for me....I think she'll actually sleep better if she was on her own. Maybe. But I don't want her to feel rejected or anything.

[preciousgiftsmama]

Originally Posted by Jule'sMomInOR

Here is an article you may find interesting:
Sleep, Changing Patterns In The Family Bed | Jay Gordon, MD FAAP

I was thinking about doing the night weaning thing around 12 months but Dr. Sears actually recommends waiting until at least 18 months when they can understand what "Boobies Go Night Night" means. I think I'll probably wait until 18 months because I don't see how I'll do it without her crying otherwise. I can't deal with her crying, not even for 30 seconds.

Great article, and I suppose I am going to take Dr. Sears recommendation also.